About 500 students converged outside the school during lunch for 17 minutes — one minute for each person killed in the Valentine's Day school shooting in Parkland — waving signs with the victims' names and chanting "Stop the violence!" and "Enough is enough!"

They joined the thousands of students who held similar protests at schools across the country, from California to Washington, D.C.

"We shouldn't have to go to school and be in fear. We should feel safe," Aniyah Smith, a junior at Heritage said after the demonstration.

Students hope their actions will lead to tighter gun laws. A few students who gathered after the walkout exchanged ideas about possibly raising the legal age to buy firearms to 21, more thorough background checks and better communication between mental health professionals and gun vendors.

Busloads of Parkland students who survived the shooting rallied outside the state capitol Wednesday calling for lawmakers to ban semiautomatic rifles and large-capacity ammunition magazines like 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz allegedly used to gun down students and staff. But less than a week after the Parkland shooting, state lawmakers rejected a bill that would ban the sale and possession of those weapons. They did, however, support proposals for deeper background checks and stricter gun rules for people with mental health issues — measures that have been backed by President Trump.

"Right now, students are not being heard," said Maya McLean, a junior at Heritage High. "We're the ones in the classrooms."

Over 150 students at Wilmington Friends School gathered under the school's American flag at noon for 17 minutes, one minute for every life lost in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.(Photo: Suchat Pederson, The News Journal-USA TODAY NETWORK)

Superintendent of Brevard Schools Desmond Blackburn agreed that the student voice has been missing from a lot of conversations, and said he was encouraged by the leadership and initiative of students at Heritage High. He, along with superintendents, mental health advocates and law enforcement officials from across the state, traveled to Tallahassee on Tuesday to meet with the governor.

"I agree that that weapon of mass destruction should not have been in that particular individual's hands," Blackburn said.

Administration and teachers at Heritage applauded students for conducting the protest in a peaceful manner. Meghan O’Hara, a science teacher at Heritage, encouraged participants to get involved with student government and passed out applications.

"I support them 100 percent in what they're doing. I think these kids are on the verge of something and I was very moved by watching them walk out," she said. "I think that they’re seeing that there is an issue in this country and that they need to stand up and be a part of it."

Walkouts at schools across the country drew a mixed reaction from school leaders. In Needville, Texas, students were threatened with suspension if they participated. In Cape Coral, Florida, the superintendent of the charter school system joined students.

The Parkland shooting also sparked discussions about the need for tougher security at Brevard County public schools and more mental health resources for students.

Heritage High, along with most other public schools in Brevard County, has a new fence around the campus, a security camera in the office and a mechanism to automatically lock the front office door from the inside. Visitors are required to check in at the front office and have to present their driver's license to get into the school.

Although the school district has spent about $6.2 million — money from a taxpayer-approved half-cent sales tax — students say the security measures are easily bypassed. It's easy to slip through the chain-link fencing, and anyone who looks like a student can get into the building, they said.

Students in Brevard County are planning additional walkouts on March 14 — one month after the Parkland shooting — and April 20 — the anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre.

"Nobody thinks it's going to happen at their school, but this does happen," she said. "Seventeen people were lost for no reason, and it seems like nothing's going to change unless we do something."

Lamaur Stancil contributed to this report

Caroline Glenn is the Education Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact her at caglenn@floridatoday.com or 321-576-5933, or follow her on Twitter @bycarolineglenn and like "Education at Florida Today" on Facebook. J.D Gallop and Lamaur Stancil contributed to this report.